This document discusses a research study about parental awareness of youth online behaviors and predicting resistance to protective strategies. The study used an internet survey of 456 parent-child pairs in the US to examine how supportive parents would be of various protective strategies and how children would feel about their parents using those strategies. The results showed that strategic efforts to protect kids are most likely to be met with resistance from older teens, boys, and when parent-child communication is poor. The best strategies to avoid this "reactance" are those that empower children and involve industry/government responsibility, while the worst strategies are highly restrictive controls like co-viewing, access to devices, and content blocks.

1. “What do I think you’re doing?!”
Sahara Byrne seb272@cornell.edu
Department of Communication
Cornell University
Also:
Theo Lee
Daniel Linz
Mary McIlrath
Mike Yao
Parental Awareness of Youth
Online Behaviors & Predicting
Resistance to Protective
Strategies

2. Questions.
• What are kids doing with
technology?
• What do we think they are
doing?
• What can we do to guide/protect
them?

3. Resistance
• WHEN are strategic efforts to protect kids
likely to be met with resistance?
• WHY does this happen?
• WHAT can be done to prevent resistance?
Don’t look
at that!
Don’t look
at that!
Turn
that
thing off!
Turn
that
thing off!
Put it
where I
can see
it!
Put it
where I
can see
it!
I don’t
trust
you!
I don’t
trust
you!

4. Research Method
• Internet survey
• 456 parents across USA
• Matched child (10-17 years old) pairs
• Parents: how much would you support
• Kids: how would you feel if your parent

5. “Positive” Behaviors

6. On the other hand…

7. Are there viable solutions?
Avoiding a “Recipe for Disaster
– Parents LOVE it
– Kids ANGRY

8. Difference Scores

9. Predicting disagreement
• Parenting style
– When it’s hard to talk to mom and dad
– Authoritarian and permissive
– Even authoritative have challenges
(tech strats)
• Values (security)
• Boys
• Older teen for more restrictive

10. Avoiding “reactance”
• BEST Strategies:
– Empowering children to protect themselves
– Government and Industry responsibility
• WORST Strategies
– Co-viewing
– Parental access
– Blocks & Filters